The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

and colleagues, AFSA and the entire department. My actions in Prague were stupid, selfish and criminal. I am still strug- gling to understand what made me do what I did, after a lifetime spent on a straight and narrow path. I do know that I have to learn from my mistakes and strive to become a better person to have any hope of putting this awful incident behind me. The Foreign Service was in many ways a dream job for me, a constant source of pride and satisfaction, a good living for my family, and a chance for my children to see the world. I must now live with the daily knowledge that I not only ruined my career and my good name, but deprived my wife and two children of that security and global exposure. I would like to thank AFSA for its counsel and assistance during this dif- ficult time. I would also like to thank Diplomatic Security for treating me with professionalism and courtesy throughout the course of their investi- gation. Alex Meerovich Former FSO Note: Alexander Meerovich was sentenced on June 24 to 24 months in prison and fined $5,000. His sentence will be followed by a two-year term of supervised release. ■ S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 9 L E T T E R S Editor’s Note: As a follow-on to Bill Farrand’s July-August letter lamenting the upcoming closure of the Army Peacekeeping Institute, we report that while the July-August issue was being printed, the decision to close the facility was changed. Pentagon Spokeswoman Alison Bettencourt was quoted in the July 8 Washington Post (p. A12) stating that the Pentagon had decided “to put on hold its earlier decision” to close the Peacekeeping Institute and was now “reviewing its charter” in view of current circumstances.